Image-guided interventions have become a viable treatment alternative for selected cancer patients because they provide expeditious, efficacious, and cost-effective management of localized cancer sites. Among the various reported methods, minimally-invasive radiofrequency (RF) ablation has become the standard of care because of its predictability, ease of use, and favorable results.
Since its clinical debut in 1995, RF ablation has become an increasingly powerful tool for treatment of primary metastatic malignancy in a variety of sites (e.g., the liver, pancreas, and kidneys) in patients who are otherwise unsuitable candidates for surgical tumor resection. The success of RF ablation has resulted in increased patient survival and a low rate of major complications. Additionally, recent technological developments such as cooled or multi-tipped electrodes have further increased the scope of tumors that can be treated with RF ablation. Nonetheless, peripheral cooling of tumor tissue near major blood vessels, restricted size of the energy deposition, and seeding of residual tumor around needle electrode tracks have all been associated with local tumor re-growth after RF ablation.
Pharmacological agents have been used as an adjuvant to improve clinical outcomes associated with RF therapy. While efficacious, such pharmacological agents are cytotoxic and non-specific. Consequently, the use of pharmacological agents with RF ablation often leads to inadvertent normal cell death. An ideal agent for co-administration with RF ablation would maximize tumor ablative effects while also limiting damage to normal tissue.